I was horrified to find out that there’s an accoustic guitar sitting in your shed. Poor girl, neglected and exposed to the elements. First things first. Have it checked out by a pro – just take it to your local guitar shop and let them examine her. They’ll let you know. IF that neck is at all warped – you’ll want to toss her and get a new one before trying to learn. Otherwise, you’ll have issues way down the road if you like playing it.

Plenty of cheap instruction methods on the market out there. Hal Leonard and Mel Bay are just 2 of them. Mel Bay can get cheesy – but it will get you started. I’m using the Hal Leonard for a banjo method – I personally love it – tho i’ve never used it to learn guitar

However, nothing compares to getting one on one lessons from a teacher!!!!!!

learn both, guitar first (get the hard stuff out of the way, also when u lean the guitar u basically learn more than one string instruments so its a good way to go) then drums, why did u stop with the piano?

i was looking at the cost of some of these instruments the other day, been planning on getting one and teaching myself for yrs *sighs*

- use a tuning meter to make sure you are tuned to concert pitch. If you are not at pitch, the neck won’t be in the right position and fret buzz can result from this.

- try switching to a lighter gauge of strings. You can use electric strings on an acoustic guitar just fine. Try some Ernie Ball Regular Slinky strings (the first string is gauge .010). Note that switching to lighter strings may cause the guitar to buzz more because the new strings will not pull as hard against the neck; to fix this, you’ll need to get the truss rod adjusted. This is a five-minute thing that any music store can do for you for free or cheap.

- you should always press down exactly behind the fret no matter what guitar you play

- press HARD when you fret. Most beginners don’t press hard enough to make a clear sound. As you play more, your hands will become stronger and pressing hard enough to get a clear tone will become second nature. But when you’re starting out, it feels very difficult.

- if you can’t press the 4th string without muting the 3rd, a different guitar won’t help. You need to improve your mechanical technique. Ask a friend who plays to show you correct hand position. In general, you must arch your fingers and press down with only the tip of the finger, staying out of the way of adjacent strings. If you are a beginner, you probably just need to keep practicing till your hands and fingers become stronger. Daily practice is important; i.e. playing a half hour a day is far better than playing three and a half hours only one day a week.

- Never buy any guitar without playing it first. Generally, I never buy guitars online because too many eBay sellers are just unloading junk. If you want another guitar, find a friend to help you shop at local music stores and want ads for a good used axe.

Hope this helps…

the problem with teaching yourself guitar (or any instrument) is that alot of people give up they get frustrated. (supposedly 90% of self taught musicians quit whilst quoting statistics are generally wrong i wouldn’t put it past being a damn high figure)
also alot of people can ”play” guitar, ie bang out a few songs & intros eg starirway to heaven. But there is a notable difference heard between a self-taught guitarist playing a song & a trained guitarist.
guitarists are a dime a dozen, everybody plays guitar (heck i play guitar) however a decent guitarist is hard to find this is where you can benifit from lessons as most people don’t take lessons.

Lessons are definitely a great idea, a teacher can show you techniques & correct you. i still get corrected over things i do at my lessons.
alot of the internet resources aren’t that great, again it is alot of amateurs with bad technique posting who started out similar to you, or looking to make a quick buck.

every music autobiography i have read (& i read quite a fair bit of them as i LOVE music) the guitarist/any instrument, has gotten lessons at some point.
there are a rare few virtuoso (ie talented) people who didn’t get lessons but even at that they start practicing with other people who have got lessons & learn off them.
As somebody said those ”guitar for dummies” are great, however that is as a side tool to reference to. not to just teach yourself, at a glance you learn the basics but when you study those books they can get quite complicated & a teacher can clear any questions you have.
a teacher also encourages you to practice & gives you set goals.
Don’t get me wrong you can learn by yourself but if you are in any way serious about wanting to play music & want to get to a good level, i’d DEFINITELY suggest lessons. Also alot of people seem to start their music career out on guitar as it is such a famous instrument & lots of people own guitars in some form. Don’t be suprised if you feel like quitting guitar because everybody plays it after a few months it happens to alot of people, it doesn’t mean you aren’t musically talented.

PS try not to ask people to give you the chords to a song, its better if you can work them out yourself it creates an ear for certain notes. however make sure what you are playing is correct.
PPS: i read here an answer off somebody who was in a music college, she roughly said ”the teachers would cringe when they heard that a new ’self-taught’ musician was coming to the colllege, because the teachers all knew he/she would have to be retaught due to them having bad technique”

Rory Gallagher- Walk On Hot Coals (ROCK, the 5 minute solo isn’t as good as the ”irish tour” solo, but jesus christ this rules & it highlights the bands chemistry)

”Rory’s death really upset me. I heard about it just before we went on stage, and it put a damper on the evening” Jimmy Page (Led Zep)

Sources: bassist
experience in music (ie reading books, being out there etc)